Weedwhacker said: what is your opinion about removing the scapes from the stiff-neck garlic?
I always clip them off as soon as I notice them. And when they are small & young- scissors work well. If you wait, the scape hardens and it's a harder job requiring clippers, or a really strong scissor grip!
I haven't tried an experiment to see the difference of "clipped/not clipped" scapes on bulb size- but I buy the theory that the bulb spends effort on developing the scape that I won't use.
The variety of garlic might dictate its size, as well as lots of other factors
Johnny's said:
The largest cloves will produce the largest bulbs; small cloves found at the inside of softneck bulbs can be sown 2" apart for garlic greens. The color, flavor, and size of garlic heads can be variable depending on location, fertility, and weather.
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/gr...
Pictured is my seed stock of "German extra hardy" stiffneck. I've been selecting for size for about a decade as well- Eating the smaller heads of garlic, and saving and eventually replanting the bigger ones. Just before planting, I separate the cloves and plant the biggest cloves.
In the fall, I make a trench about 4" deep with my triangle hoe, then run a thin band of fertilizer down the trench, and then using the hoe, add some dirt and remix the dirt and fertilizer for a 4" deep trench. I then plant my cloves every 6 - 8 inches along the trench and fill it in. I often run a parallel trench about a foot apart from the first, for a second row. Much easier then digging individual holes.
It also actually makes an effective deer fence!
In the early spring when the garlic is around 6 in" ( about now) I sprinkler some fertilizer around the cloves, then cultivate carefully with a stirrup hoe to control the baby weeds and mix the fertilizer. It doesn't compete well with weeds.
They won't be fertilized again.
My planting timeline- garlic in the ground by Halloween- I enjoy the Dracula reference as I'm easily amused.
